Mission: Our desire is to cultivate a missional DNA in college students by providing them opportunities to serve through partnerships with churches and ministries in the Tuscaloosa community.

Click here to apply for the 2019 Summer Missionary Program. Applications due by March 1!!

WHAT WE DO

A group of college students are selected to serve as S.D. Allen Summer Missionaries. They commit their summer to working with S.D. Allen’s Missions partners in the Tuscaloosa community. Our hope is that once these students are exposed to local missions, they will feel the responsibility to do the same wherever God may lead them after college. They learn to work with a team to complete the task of furthering God’s Kingdom locally. The Summer Missionaries serve with these churches and ministries in their summer programs, backyard Bible clubs, block parties, Bible studies, etc. This empowers some of our partners to more effectively minister to their respective communities throughout the summer.

"On the surface, the summer missionary program seems to be a teaching endeavor. We were constantly leading games, teaching Bible stories and answering children’s questions –teacher stuff. But if we were teachers, we were too busy learning to realize it.

At Jesus Way we were overwhelmed by the number of kids who kept showing up at Pastor Doughty’s summer program. There we learned to season instruction with grace, and in return the children gave us their trust and confidence. The pilot lunch program at Rosedale gave us an opportunity to meet new children, and we learned the role of patience in nurturing relationships through highs and lows. We continued to build relationships with kids at McKenzie Courts in the gym, and in one of the most exciting developments from the summer, the gospel began to click with several kids at Tuesday night Bible Studies in the fall. Seeing the fruit of the work that God began through the 2014 summer missionaries lifted our spirits, reminding us of the persistence of His purposes.

We worked in several other communities in various capacities, but at every turn God demonstrated that His grace is sufficient. At every meal we were encouraged through the fellowship of the church family. After spending every hour of the day together, we learned to leverage our individual strengths for the team’s objectives and to spur one another in spiritual growth. Through our special friendships we learned more together than we would have individually.

And now that we’ve tasted the joy of seeking His kingdom in Tuscaloosa, we can’t help but seek it wherever we go."